Open Adoption
by The Lazy way
Summary: Years after the events of City of Heavenly Fire, Magnus and Alec think they're ready to start a family. This is just your average story of a warlock and shadowhunter going through an open adoption. (Well, I guess that's NOT your average story.)


"Alexander, I love you, but if you don't get in here right this second, I swear to god I'll bedazzle all your shirts while you're sleeping!" Magnus yelled, his hand firmly held over speaker of the apartment's phone.

Alec tore his eyes away from the book he was reading, raising a curious eyebrow at the sound of his partner's voice. He opened his mouth to question Magnus, but the latter man called out Alec's name again, stopping him. Not wanting to risk sparkly pullovers, he slipped off the bed and padded out of the bedroom, abandoning his book on the duvet.

"Hey, what-" Alec hardly got the words out before Magnus was holding a finger to his lips, indicating him to be quiet. Alec narrowed his eyes at the warlock, but joined him at his side. Magnus looped his arm around Alec's waist and pulled him close, holding the phone up between their ears so they could both hear.

" . . . be visiting New York next week, so I thought perhaps that'd be a good time to meet." Alec's eyes widened at the sound of the woman's voice, but didn't say anything himself. "I was born with the Sight, so I think there's a very good chance the baby will have it too. That's why I think you two would make the perfect couple."

Alec's eyes flew to Magnus, who had a smirk across his lips. _Baby? _Alec mouthed. Magnus grinned, and planted a quick kiss on the other man's jaw.

Alec was stunned. They'd been looking into adoption for years. Both had been a little hesitant, at first, but had overall warmed up to the idea. Eager, even. The fact that they couldn't find a mother that completely matched their specifications had been more than frustrating. But now they were planning to _meet with _someone about an adoption? That was one step further than they've ever gotten!

"Thank you," Magnus responded, not sounded at all as fazed as Alec felt. "Next week would be perfect. Call us again whenever you are able to clear a good time to meet us. Alright, thank you again. Bye now." Magnus pulled the phone away from their ears and hit the off button, before returning it to the hook on the wall.

"Was . . . what just happened?" Alec asked in shock, a surprised laugh half interrupting his question. Magnus was smiling like an idiot, his cat eyes gleaming.

"I think," He said, grabbing Alec's hands. "we just agreed to be interviewed for an adoption."

Alec opened his mouth, trying to think of something to say. He couldn't think of anything. They'd just taken one step closer to becoming parents.

"By the Angel . . . Magnus this is . . ." Alec was laughing, the sound of it was excited and . . . relieved. An odd combination. Just like Alec and Magnus. Alec threw his arms around his warlock's neck, much to the surprise of the latter. He stumbled, throw off by the sudden weight change, and his back bumped into the counter. Laughing as well, Magnus returned Alec's embrace, and started swaying them from side to side.

Alec buried his head in Magnus's neck, trying to calm himself down. He could be a father soon. _Magnus_ could be a father soon. If the interview went well, they could be parents! They could have a kid- a beautiful, perfect kid. _Their _kid- a living, breathing, child whom they'd love. Alec could already imagine Magnus sprinkling hair glitter into a little girl's pigtails, or Alec teaching her how to properly shoot a bow. Maybe Magnus would amaze a little boy with his magic, and Alec would happily show him off to the rest of his family.

He could already imagine their little, beautiful family.

"This is unbelievable." Alec finished quietly, pulling Magnus closer to him. The warlock chuckled deeply, and rested his cheek on the top of Alec's head.

"I know." He muttered; his voice full of something Alec couldn't quite place. It was close to love, but filled with want and hopefulness as well. Alec pulled back a little, smiling, and looped his fingers through Magnus's belt loops.

"You have to remember," Magnus said, his voice suddenly very serious. "Nothings set in stone yet. She just agreed to meet us. If she changes her mind, then-"

Alec stopped him mid-sentence with a sudden kiss. "Nothing's set in stone yet," he parroted when he pulled away. "Maybe you're right- maybe she'll hate us. But maybe she'll love us instead. She might think we're the best parents ever. There's only one way to find out."

Magnus smirked down at Alec. "Alright," He mumbled, curling his fingers around Alec's belt loops, so they were both holding onto each other at the hips. He leaned back against the counter and pulled Alec closer.

Alec leaned his head against Magnus's chest in order to hide his sudden foolish grin.

"We could be parents soon." Alec whispered. He turned his eyes upwards, even though he knew Magnus couldn't see his face from his angle. He waited. Magnus seemed to relax against the counter, and with a content sigh, wrapped his arms around Alec tightly.

"I know." Magnus breathed. He wasn't sure what to feel- but none of his emotions were bad. He was sure some fears would turn up eventually. _Of course_ they would. But for now, they were non-existent. He was just happy.

Magnus cupped Alec's chin, and lifted it so their eyes met. They just stared at each other for a moment, thinking.

"I love you." Magnus breathed, lightly brushing his thump over Alec's bottom lip. Despite being married for nearly four years, Alec's heart stuttered at the gesture.

"I know." Alec whispered, leaning into Magnus a little more. Alec lifted one of his hands to Magnus's head, and knotted his fingers in the warlock's hair, pulling his face closer to his own. Magnus moved one of his hands to the back of blue-eyed man's neck.

Alec pulled Magnus's face closer, took a quick breath before he pressed his lips against Magnus's. Magnus smiled against his lips, and eagerly returned the kiss, moving one hand behind himself to hold onto the kitchen counter.

"You know, we probably can't do this with a kid running around." Magnus reminded between kisses.

"They won't be able to run the first year or so." Alec added, tugging on one of Magnus's earlobes playfully.

Nuzzling Alec's nose with his own, Magnus mumbled; "Funny." Then he brought his lips back to his partner's. Alec chuckled under Magnus's lips, and shivered as Magnus traced a finger along Alec's neck- outlining a rune, he realized.

"I love you too." Alec whispered finally, returning once again to their earlier comments. Magnus pulled back, much to Alec's disappointment. Magnus raised a dark eyebrow, and bit his lip before he spoke.

"I know." He smirked.

* * *

"Alec, it'll be fine," Magnus urged, not for the first time. Alec all but ignored him- he picked up a pillow off the sofa, fluffed it, and then returned it to his place. He tucked a longer strand of his hair behind his ear, and then suddenly paused. He glanced up at Magnus.

"Do you think my hair looks too shaggy?"

Magnus raised a dark eyebrow. "I think it looks cute." He reached for his partner, but Alec whirled around, much to the warlock's surprise.

Stalking towards the bathroom, the shadowhunter continued muttering; "Dammit."

Magnus blinked in confusion. "What? That was supposed to be a compliment!" He yelled after him, feeling disappointed that his embrace had been ignored.

"I don't want to look _cute_," Alec yelled back from the bathroom. "I want to look clean. Fatherly. You know; someone you'd want your unborn kid to be raised by?"

Ever since the possible-mother-of-their-future-child agreed to meet them, Alec had been extremely stressed. After the overall joy had worn off . . . he'd thrown himself into preparing for her arrival. He'd tucked every weapon away, hidden all of Magnus's potions and spell books. Despite knowing the mundane had the Sight and already knew everything about the shadow world, Alec would take no chances. He wanted to make a good impression, and he didn't think seraph blades hanging on the wall would do that.

Magnus huffed in amusement, and heard the water suddenly be turned on. "You know," He called, trying to make his voice casual to annoy Alec. "You don't exactly look fatherly when you're covered head-to-toe in tattoos."

"Says the man with a rainbow belt and sparkles in his hair." Alec chirped back, turning the water off.

"Ouch," Magnus exclaimed, staggering backwards as if he'd been struck. "I think you just went too far." Magnus touched his chest, and a fake insulted look crossed his features. "Seriously, you might have just ruined our marriage. I might as well divorce you right now." Alec gave him a look as he exited the bathroom, and Magnus's fake expression quickly shifted.

"Whoa," He said, dropping his hands to his side.

"What?" Alec asked in a concerned voice, tugging self-consciously on the sleeve of his black sweater. Magnus grinned slightly at how the tugging on his sleeve revealed more of his partner's collarbone, and stepped closer to Alec.

Brushing a finger over Alec's cheek, Magnus tilted his head. "I can actually see your face." He said, a hint of sarcasm entering his tone. Yes, he'd always been able to see Alec's face. But today, he had used Magnus's gel and slicked it back, out of his eyes. It didn't hang on either side of his face, so he didn't look so . . . hidden. Water droplets fell from the ends of his dark hair, and left little dark spots on his back.

"Ha, ha," Alec said, sarcasm more obvious in his tone than it had been in Magnus's. He tried to step away from Magnus and get back to his obsessive cleaning, but the other man caught his elbow and held him still.

"Hey," Magnus said softly, moving his hands up Alec's arms until they rested on his shoulders. "Everything will be fine. I promise- there's absolutely nothing to worry about. If things go good, great. If things don't-" Magnus shrugged nonchalantly. "-what's there to lose?"

"Well, we could lose our kid."

Magnus planted a quick kiss on Alec's forehead. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Trust me, Alexander, everything will be fine. I'm sure she'll love us." He finally released the shadowhunter, and turned to admire their apartment. "On a different note, have you seen the chairman?"

While Magnus went on a hunt to find his cat, Alec started pacing. What if she _didn't_ like them? What if she didn't like _them_ being _them together_? She knew they were both males, right? God- Alec hated thinking about her as "she." Had Magnus ever actually told Alec the woman's name?

"Hey Mag-" The irritating buzz of the bell sounded, freezing Alec mid-sentence. _She's here_! "Magnus!" Alec called, louder, as he rushed over to the buzzer. He pressed the button, heart beating fast, and quickly spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Um . . . I'm here to see Magnus and Alec Bane?"

"Of course. Come right up."

Alec buzzed her through, and could hear her climbing the stairs outside the door. _Oh god_, he thought. _Did I sound stupid_? _She knew my name, I should've known hers_. How embarrassing.

Alec ran a hand through his hair and let out a large breath as the mystery woman's footfalls got louder on the stairs. _This is the woman who could be the mother of our kid_, Alec worriedly noted.

She knocked on the door once, a polite tap. Alec's heart dropped into his stomach, and his breathing quickened She knocked on the door once more, a tad louder, before he found the courage to reach for the doorknob. He twisted and pulled the door opening, revealing a young smiling woman. Almost against his own will, Alec gave her a once over.

She was thin but curvy. Her height, admittedly, wasn't much- she was short, and reminded Alec of Clary. Her hair, a light caramel brown, was tied off her face in a loose bun. She looked young, he noted dumbly. Around the age Magnus physically was- no older than twenty.

"Hi," She said politely, holding one hand out. "I'm Natalie Paul. You must be Alec."

Alec took her hand and shook it, smiling at the girl. "Yep, that's me. Please, come inside." He pushed the door opened wider, and moved sideways so she had room to move past. She nodded at him in thanks, and walked forward into the apartment.

Alec watched as Natalie admired the apartment. She offered compliments about some of Magnus's random knick knacks, and accepted when Alec offered her some coffee. He noticed how her hand was constantly hovering over her still-basically-flat stomach, as if she were afraid to touch it but didn't want to ignore it.

"Sugar? Milk?" Alec offered, handing the girl a steaming mug. She shook her head, and smiled at him sheepishly.

"No, thank you." She sipped carefully, wincing when it burned her tongue.

The conversation faltered for a second. Alec didn't know what to say, what to ask. _Hi, how's the baby doing_? That seemed weird- if he questioned it differently it'd probably be more acceptable, but still . . . And Alec was surprised by how difficult it was to avoid looking at Natalie's stomach. A kid- _his _kid, hopefully- was in there. It was weird to think about.

Magnus suddenly returned from the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He brightened when he saw Natalie sitting on the couch and strode over quickly.

"Natalie!" He exclaimed, as if they were old friends. "It's such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for coming out, it means the world to us." Magnus nodded his head in Alec's direction, but then quickly turned back to the girl.

"So how are you?" He asked, diving into a charming conversation as he sunk into the chair across from her. Natalie blinked, a bit surprised by his friendliness, but grinned.

"I'm fine. And you?"

* * *

So began the conversation. Despite Alec's fears, it wasn't as much an interview as a nice conversation. Natalie was born in New York. Her father died in a car accident not too long after that. Her mother, whom had the Sight, worked at Beth Israel hospital with Catarina Loss. Natalie herself has the Sight, and knew many downworlders. Catarina, in fact, was the one to confirm the girl's pregnancy- which was seven weeks in. Natalie had moved to a town outside of the city, so she could attend school but stay close to her mother. Natalie broke up with her boyfriend after he learned she was pregnant- that's why she decided to put the baby up for adoption. Of course, a few other factors came into play as well. Natalie's boyfriend did offer his family's health records, though, which was good.

She was willing to have an open adoption if they were, which, of course, they were.

"I am meeting with a few more people while I'm here," Natalie admitted. Magnus and Alec both nodded. They'd expected as much. "But," She continued, brightly. "I really do think you two would be great parents."

Alec and Magnus both seemed to relax then. Magnus brushed his thumb over Alec's knuckles, and the shadowhunter smiled back at him.

"Oh wow," Natalie mumbled, glancing down at her watch, and then at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's already four. I'm meeting my mom in an hour. I have to get going."

Natalie rose to her feet, and Magnus and Alec hurried to follow suit. She held out her hand for another round of shakes, before picking her bag up from the couch.

"You know," She said, as the men walked her to the door. "I'm sure my mother would love to meet you two. Maybe we could schedule lunch, one day?"

"Of course," Alec responded, not giving Magnus a chance to. "That'd be great. Just call us whenever, and we'll figure out a time."

Magnus reached behind Natalie and pulled the door open for her. "It was a pleasure meeting you." She said sincerely.

"The pleasure's all ours." Magnus chuckled, offering his hand again. Natalie shook it, and nodded politely at Alec again as she stepped out into the hallway.

"Bye now." Magnus called after her, as she began walking towards the stairs. She turned and waved over her shoulder, like a giddy child.

Alec's heart didn't slow until after the door was shut again, and he was sitting back down on the couch. He hadn't realized he'd been nervous- the feeling had kind of been buried as he spoke. But when the time came for her to leave . . . it was like being handed a report card, with absolutely no clue what the grade was.

"How'd we do?" Magnus asked curiously, scooping the chairman (whom had emerged from the bedroom as Natalie left) up into his arms.

Alec glanced over at Magnus, his eyebrows raised. _How'd we do_? Well, she seemed to like them. This was good. But how sincere had she been? Did they really have a shot, or was she just leading them on?

God, what if she was just leading them on?

Magnus could sense the stress rolling off Alec, and gave him a half smile. He raised his hands dramatically, and with a snap of his fingers, a steaming Styrofoam cup was on the counter behind Alec. The shadowhunter wasn't fazed by the theft anymore- Magnus promised he put money in the tip jars now. Alec wasn't sure if he believed him, though, but he guessed it didn't matter.

"Thanks." Alec muttered, lifting the cup to his lips. He wrinkled his nose at the scent of the unfamiliar tea, but took a brave sip anyway.

"Seriously though, how'd you think we did?" Magnus cut in again.

Alec let out a short sputtering laugh as he swallowed his tea. Alec noticed that Magnus looked like an excited little boy, especially with the chairman clutched in his arms. The shadowhunter shook his head, chuckling lightly, at Magnus's giddy expression.

"How'd _you _think we did?" Alec challenged, taking another gulp of his tea as he leaned back against the counter.

Magnus's cat eyes gleamed, and an almost smug grin crossed his lips. "I think we did great," He stated confidently. "I think we smoked the rest of the competition. She loves us, and she'll be crazy if she doesn't pick us."

""Competition?"" Alec repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean," Magnus said, with an eye roll added as well.

"No, I don't think I do."

The warlock gave the other male a look, which earned him a laugh.

Magnus smirked then, and the chairman automatically jumped out of his hands. Magnus strode over to Alec and let the shadowhunter wrap an arm around his waist. Magnus wrapped his own arm around Alec's shoulders, and let out a relived sigh.

It was times like those when Alec really remembered why he loved Magnus. Even though they had to deal with a lot- downworld and shadowhunters and the mortality issue for example- they could still just be together. They could get through it.

Like adoption. It was hard, but they were getting through it.

"You know, you never answered me; how do you think he did?" Magnus piped up again.

Alec just laughed.

**This was inspired by (spoiler, I guess?) Cassandra Clare's tweet saying Alec and Magnus were getting married and adopting. **

**I might continue it…I don't know. What do you think? Should I? Or is it fine as a oneshot?**

**Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!**


End file.
